Aztar sees 6 percent drop in revenues in February

DANIEL R. PATMORE / SPECIAL TO EBJ
(File Photo) Casino Aztar dealer Albert Holtz, left, deals a card in the second round of a three-card poker tournament at Aztar. Player James Wall, center, of Lewisburg, Tenn., looks over his hand as Rick Stinson, right, of Henderson, Ky., talks with fellow player Va Rukes of Reelsville, Ind. Casino Aztar saw its revenues drop 6 percent last month, according to the Indiana Gaming Commission’s monthly revenue report.

The report details how many people visited each of Indiana's casinos in February and how much they wagered, as well as how much each property distributed as customer winnings, paid in taxes and kept as revenue.

In February, Aztar earned $9.7 million in gaming revenue, a drop of 6 percent as compared to a year earlier. When customers gamble at a casino, most of that money is paid back out in winnings. The casino keeps the rest as revenue.

Ward Shaw, Aztar's general manager, said more than half of last month's revenue drop was caused by the calendar. Last year was a leap year, giving February 29 days as compared to this year's 28.

Gaming revenues from all of Indiana's casinos last month added up to $211.3 million, a drop of 12 percent compared to 2012.

Total admissions at Aztar last month were 93,721, down 13 percent compared to last year. Shaw has said that admissions are not a meaningful statistic, partly because that number is easily skewed by the number of times a customer enters or leaves the casino during a single trip. As Aztar has made casino improvements, customers have been more likely to stay on the gaming floor, Shaw has said.

Taken as a whole, Indiana's casinos saw 1,758,279 admissions last month — an 18 percent drop compared to 2012.

Aztar's two main competitors are the French Lick Casino; and, in Southern Illinois, Harrah's Metropolis.

Last month French Lick saw its revenues and its revenues drop 6 percent. Harrah's Metropolis fared worse, with both its revenues and admissions down 23 percent.